Cage for antifriction bearings



y 1929 T. L. mnamfimm CAGE FOR ANTIFRICTION BEARINGS Filed July 25, 1.927

Patented May 7, 1929. j

nsmmmum THOMAHD. ROBINSON, E VALPARAISU, INDIANA.

GAGE FOIL ANTIFRICTIUN BEARING-S Application filed July 25,

This invention relates to ball spacing cages for anti'lriction bearings of the annular type and that are interposed between the inner and outer annular raceways tor the purpose of maintaining the balls in proper spaced relation, and particularly tocages suitable for double row bearings wherein two rows of balls function independently.

'lhere are many types of cages for this purpose made in various manners, materials and number of pieces. in all such constructions, pockets or Cllttll'lbGl'S are provided that partially surround the balls, contacting with their surfaces at various points. In some instances cages are made in two parts :tor each race of balls and riveted or locked together. finch a construction requires the insertion or the inner cage portions, in a double row bean ing, before the balls areinserted, the outer cage portions being inserted thereafter, evidently a diilicult and slow moving operation. Again, there are one piece cages, two of which are inserted between the raceways of a two row hearing before the balls are inserted, with some provision for deforming portions of the cages from the outside to effect locking. This latter type makes it extremely difficult to move the raceways eccentric of each otherto insert the desired number of balls.

One object of my invention isto devise a one piece cage that can be readily assembled in a bearing and locked in place without any possibility of deforming any of the ball pockets. A further object to make possible the locking of the cage in place by an operation performed from the opposite side ot the bearing to which the cage is inserted without holes, notches or special provisions in the raceways to permit the locking operation.

With the above andother objects in View, my invention consists of the arrangement, combination and construction of the various elements of my improved device as described in the specification, claimed in my claims and shown in the accompanying; drawings, in which 1 F 1 depicts a double rowbearing with the outor raceway partially removed disclos ingg some of the balls, an unlocked. cage, a loci-zed cage anda tool indicatingrjthe method of locking j, l H,

Fin". 2 is a section taken on.v line 2 -2 ot hig showin ytwo balls and the loclringelements in final position.

Serial No. 208,119.

Fig. 3 is anedgewise viewol? a single cage ready iior assembly. 1

4: is a side view of Fig. 3 looking into the open ball pockets with the locking clemei rts in their original position. l lg. 18 a section taken on line 5-5 of lug. 3 showing a single locking element in its original position.

18 are ball pockets integral with the base ring:

17, and 19 are partitions between adjacent ball pockets, one of whichis omitted as at 21. lhe ball pockets are preferably formed by providing a plurality of adjacent notches in the inner edge of each of the bands or rings 17, each notch to receive oneof the balls 18. The inner edge of each notclris bounded by a radiallyentending Wall or flange. The ends of adjacent walls are connected by the partitions 19, as shown, whereby the ball pockets are provided. 20 are deformable elemerits projecting from the outer edges of the partitions 19.

The ball pockets 18, by preference, are semi-cylindrical in form with their ayes radial to the center of the bearing. The side walls of the pockets 18 extend beyond the centers of the balls 13 and since the axes of pockets are radial, adjacent Walls of adjacent pockets will be at a considerable anrgle to each other. the walls therefor being farther apart at theirouter ends than at the centers of the balls. The locking; elements 20, being adjacent theonter ends oi? the pockets, have a circumferential dimension greater than the closest distance between adjacent balls. Thus it will be seen i'l'lfLlIWllGIl the elements 20 are bent downwardly as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, they will overlap adjacent balls and hold the cage in place laterally. If spheri cal ball pochetswere employed the elements 20 would be stillwider. In anyevent. the widthot the elements 20 can be predetermined asbeinn' j ust suilieient to properly look the cage in place, and it is not always nece Cir In the original form, before locking, the elements 20 project at right angles to the partitions 19 as clearlyshown in Fig. '5. When down into final position, whereupon the tool properly the balls 13 are in place and the cages put into their proper places, the locking tool 16 is inserted through the space 21 in one cage and brought into contact-with an element 20 of the opposite cage. With the opposite cage supported, a blow or pressure applied to the tool 16 will bend the element'2O inwardly as shown, conforming to the specially shaped end of the tool 16, as shown. Any tendency of the tool 16 to move outwardly away from the element will be resisted by contact with the outer raceway 11. Now with the tool 16 still in the open space 21 in the first cage, the second cage is worked around until each of its elements 20 have been bent 16 is withdrawn and inserted through the space 21 in the second cage and the elements 20 of the first cage are bent down into their final form and'the assembly is completed.

If desired the secondcage need not have thesopen space 21 and need not be in place whenl'ocking the first cage for obvious reasons, butsnch a program would make the two 1 cages unlike [as the first cage would necessarily have to have the open space. Making the cages duplicate spells for economical quantity manufacture.

While the elements 20, when locked, pre- Vent the cage from working out of place in an axial direction, they also serve to locate the cage radially in a concentric position,

' thereby preventing the base ring 17 from rubbing on'the inner raceway 12 should there be any tendency for the cage to move in that direction. It-should also be noted that since the elements 20 project principally from the partitions 19 and are connected to the pocket walls 18 only where the pockets are joined and braced by the partitions 19. the bending of the elements 20 will not deform the ball pockets.

- The absence of one partition and a corresponding locking element does not weaken the structure or. disturb the function of the cage, as the element 20 on either side of the vacant space 21 are sufficient to securely lock ontheballs on eitherjside of the vacant space. To offset any lack of running balance occasioned by'the vacant space, additional metal may beadded at the proper point to compensate.

My construction affords an extremely simple, strong cage that lends itself readily to die casting, with the particular advantage that the size and shape of the ball pockets can be predetermined and maintained without any possibility of'distortion during assembly.

' Locking the cage from the side opposite to I leave an opening between one pair of pockets, there is no elelnent to be bent down and possibly deform the unsupported pocket walls adjacent that opening.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a new and useful construction in a very simple manner. Obviously changes in detail canbe made by anyone skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not care to limit myself to any particular arrangement of the elements.

I claim:

1. A spacing cage for ball bearings comprising in one piece a cylindrical base ring having ball pockets extending outwardly therefrom and beyond the centers of the balls, partitions joining adjacent pockets also extending outwardly from said base ring and substantially parallel to a plane through the ball centers, lockin elements projecting from the outer edges of said partitions in a direction away from said pockets, said locking elements adapted to be bent toward the ball centers locking said ca e in place.

2. A spacing cage for ball bearings comprising in one piece a cylindrical base ring having ball pockets extending outwardly therefrom and beyond the centers of? the balls, partitions joining adjacent pockets and also extending outwardly from said base rin v and substantially parallel to a plane through the ball centers, locking elements projecting laterally from the said partitions, said locking elements adapted to be bent toward the ball centers locking said cage in place, said locking elements being accessible only from the side of the bearing opposite to that from which said cage is inserted.

3. A spacing cage for a double row ball bearing comprising in one piece a base ring, ball pockets extending outwardly therefrom, partitions joining said pockets also extending outwardly from said base ring and locking elements extending from said partitions, the arrangement of said ring, pockets, partitions and elements being such that said cage is insertible in said bearing from the outside thereof and said elements only accessible for bending and locking said on e in place from a point opposite to the si e from which said cage is inserted.

4. A spacing cage for a double row ball bearing comprisingin one piece a cylindrical base ring having ball "pockets extending outwardly therefrom and beyond the centers Ill til)

of the balls, partitions of lesser number than ball pockets joining adjacent pockets and also extending outwardly from said base ring and beyond the ball centers and substantially parallel to a plane through the ball centers,

locking elements projecting laterally from pliable locking elements projecting from the outer edges of said partitions and adapted and arranged to be bent inwardly between adjacent balls in said notches to hold the same in place.

6. A spacing cage for ball bearing comprising a substantially cylindrical base band having ball receiving notches along one edge, the edges of said notches being bounded by radially extending walls, alternate adjacent ends of said Walls being connected by partitions; and pliable locking elements projecting from the outer edges of said partitions and adapted and arranged to be bent inwardly between adjacent balls in said notches to hold the same in place.

THOMAS L. ROBINSON. 

